Cody Allen has secured a spot in the big league pen. Had a solid spring but thought he may be a casualty of numbers and end up in AAA to start the year. Pestano, Smith, Albers, and Allen would seem to fill 4 of the 7 spots. Hill or Hags (or both) would seem to have to be in as well as need a lefty. Huff out of options and if Perez is healthy...may not have much competition left there.

Hermie13 wrote:Cody Allen has secured a spot in the big league pen. Had a solid spring but thought he may be a casualty of numbers and end up in AAA to start the year. Pestano, Smith, Albers, and Allen would seem to fill 4 of the 7 spots. Hill or Hags (or both) would seem to have to be in as well as need a lefty. Huff out of options and if Perez is healthy...may not have much competition left there.

Good for Cody. He deserves it. So Allen and Hill make the bullpen. IMO, I think Hagadone does as well.

Hermie13 wrote:Cody Allen has secured a spot in the big league pen. Had a solid spring but thought he may be a casualty of numbers and end up in AAA to start the year. Pestano, Smith, Albers, and Allen would seem to fill 4 of the 7 spots. Hill or Hags (or both) would seem to have to be in as well as need a lefty. Huff out of options and if Perez is healthy...may not have much competition left there.

Good for Cody. He deserves it. So Allen and Hill make the bullpen. IMO, I think Hagadone does as well.

Forgot about Hill being added to the 40. So yeah 5 spots locked down, 6 if Perez is healthy. Personally think Hags has pitched well enough to deserve a spot and another lefty late in the game would be nice, but wondering if a guy like Huff may make it due to options and ability to give you more innings. I know there's been some mention of possibly an 8-man pen to start the year but personally still not a fan of it (unless Carrasco is the guy to get his suspension out of the way). Maybe you open with Perez on the DL though just to be safe and give both Hags and Huff a spot.

I actually got a chance to sit down and watch some of the game today against the Reds. Didn't get to see Masterson, but did see everybody else. Huff looked pretty good, but I'm really rooting for Shaw to make the team. I just love that cutter or whatever it is that he throws. It looks very similar to Mariano Rivera's cutter. It is just a pitch that is so difficult to square up on, even if he misses his location. Between Pestano, Shaw, Allen, and Hagadone, we have 4 guys that could potentially fill closer roles in their career. That is quite a nice problem to have.

BrianM wrote: Between Pestano, Shaw, Allen, and Hagadone, we have 4 guys that could potentially fill closer roles in their career. That is quite a nice problem to have.

Albers is 30 years old and has a career ERA of 4.68 with a WHIP of 1.48. I don't see anything in this guy that suggests he's more than a very marginal ML relief pitcher.

However, last season he had a career year, with a 2.39 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. His hits allowed per nine innings was 6.9 against a career average of 9.2.

Either he discovered a new pitch last year that made him a completely different pitcher at age 29 or he just had one of those years where all the line drives were right at somebody. I have no idea which it is, but I'm not ready to annoint him as a future closer just yet. I'm not sure he even makes the team, although I think we lose him if he isn't on the Opening Day roster, so he has that going for him.

Shaw is only 25 and pitched in 64 games for the D-Backs last year. Right-handers hit only .211 against him whereas lefties tuned him up for a .333 average. He looks like a guy you could bring in with men on base and a tough right-handed hitter coming up, but I don't see him as a closer-in-waiting.

The "thinning of the herd" in the bullpen will begin in earnest during the coming week. As of now, there are twelve (12) guys for seven (7) spots. Of that group,

Chris PerezVinnie PestanoJoe Smith

are locks to make the club, leaving four spots open & nine bodies to fill them. By process of elimination, Blake Wood and Frank Herrmann have eliminated themselves as candidates due to health, leaving seven players for four spots.

While not in ink, it's a pretty safe conclusion that at least one lefty (possibly two) will be kept. That puts Rich Hill into the drivers seat while putting Nick Hagadone, David Huff and Scotty Barnes directly onto the hot seat. Hagadone has truly emerged as a bullpen option and will be tough to send down. There is a strong likelihood that Hags starts the year in C-Bus based on 'numbers' crunch. David Huff offers the ability to go multiple innings and spot start but doesn't have much of a track record of success in a relief role. Huff also cannot be sent to C-bus without first exposing him to waivers. While there is some likelihood he could be picked up, it's the price the Indians would have to pay. Scotty Barnes would appear to be looking at a ticket to C-Bus with an "open" return to Cleveland at some time during the 2013 season.

The right handers remaining will be selected based on options and performance over the next two weeks. There is a chance that one additional RH'ers will be sent down in lieu of keeping Hags, but, that is yet to be seen. The remaining two spots in the pen may consist of Brian Shaw & Matt Albers, the twosome acquired in the Shin-soo Choo deal from the DBax via Cincinnati.

Spring Training is a TERRIBLE time to evaluate players, but, it must be done. There are 29 other clubs that are doing the same thing and they all have the same issues with their pens.. too many arms that the team likes and not enough spots.. save for a handful of teams who appear to be "searching" for some bullpen help. Two of those teams, Tigers & Halos, both have players the Indians would be interested in (Andrew Romine/Avisail Garcia, as examples, respectively).. We'll see if what the Indians have to offer meets with what these teams believe is the right arm for their pens..or if a trade is in the offing..

BrianM wrote: Between Pestano, Shaw, Allen, and Hagadone, we have 4 guys that could potentially fill closer roles in their career. That is quite a nice problem to have.

Albers is 30 years old and has a career ERA of 4.68 with a WHIP of 1.48. I don't see anything in this guy that suggests he's more than a very marginal ML relief pitcher.

However, last season he had a career year, with a 2.39 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. His hits allowed per nine innings was 6.9 against a career average of 9.2.

Either he discovered a new pitch last year that made him a completely different pitcher at age 29 or he just had one of those years where all the line drives were right at somebody. I have no idea which it is, but I'm not ready to annoint him as a future closer just yet. I'm not sure he even makes the team, although I think we lose him if he isn't on the Opening Day roster, so he has that going for him.

Shaw is only 25 and pitched in 64 games for the D-Backs last year. Right-handers hit only .211 against him whereas lefties tuned him up for a .333 average. He looks like a guy you could bring in with men on base and a tough right-handed hitter coming up, but I don't see him as a closer-in-waiting.

Albers was not among the guys I listed. I'd actually prefer he gets dumped in favor of Shaw and even Huff.

BrianM wrote: Between Pestano, Shaw, Allen, and Hagadone, we have 4 guys that could potentially fill closer roles in their career. That is quite a nice problem to have.

Albers is 30 years old and has a career ERA of 4.68 with a WHIP of 1.48. I don't see anything in this guy that suggests he's more than a very marginal ML relief pitcher.

However, last season he had a career year, with a 2.39 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. His hits allowed per nine innings was 6.9 against a career average of 9.2.

Either he discovered a new pitch last year that made him a completely different pitcher at age 29 or he just had one of those years where all the line drives were right at somebody. I have no idea which it is, but I'm not ready to annoint him as a future closer just yet. I'm not sure he even makes the team, although I think we lose him if he isn't on the Opening Day roster, so he has that going for him.

Shaw is only 25 and pitched in 64 games for the D-Backs last year. Right-handers hit only .211 against him whereas lefties tuned him up for a .333 average. He looks like a guy you could bring in with men on base and a tough right-handed hitter coming up, but I don't see him as a closer-in-waiting.

Shaw will need to get lefites out to be a true closer but scouts have liked his arm for a while and does have that late inning potential. I think he fails to make the club due to a numbers crunch but he'll be helping the Tribe at some point.

Albers is nothing special but a veteran arm to use in the 6th/7th innings. Thrown at least 60 innings each of the past 4 seaons too. Plus, he also has familiarity with Francona as he pitched for Boston in 2011 when Francona was manager there still. Albers was used 23 times that year in multiple inning appearances, so a guy Francona could use as a bridge if the starters struggle. In addition to the drop in hits last year, he also dropped his BB rate by a full walk per 9 from the previous season. Having more control can help limit hits as you can get guys into worse counts. Again, nothing special but a guy I don't mind having in the pen.

Sorry, Brian, I'm so used to seeing the names Shaw and Albers together that I read "Allen" as "Albers". I do agree Allen has closer potential.

As for Ubaldo, I don't know whether to be encouraged that he's not walking many batters and not getting lit up, or discouraged that he's allowing so many hits, even though he's working out of jams.

It's hard to be optimistic when reports are that his fastball is in the 88-92 range.

At least he'll have some fast outfielders to run down those line drives in the gap. If he can limit the walks, keep the ball in the park,and make good pitches when he needs to I suppose he could struggle through with smoke and mirrors, mostly mirrors.

I am really not trying to rub it in, but man this guy sure has been good since being released by the tribe and coming back up through indy ball. Look at those ST stats - plus his year in AA, well in all actuality ever since he was given a 2nd chance. He has seized what in baseball vernacular could be called a true non-opportunity and wind up on a ML team by the end of the season at this rate. I guess it could be considered a whiff by the scouting/player development dept, but his "filler" status (48th round selection/age) and ho-hum but not terrible final year definitely doomed him. His release didn't seem irrational, but in hindsight never happens. Looks like he learned a lot from the experience. These are the guys I love rooting for.

criznit2009 wrote:I am really not trying to rub it in, but man this guy sure has been good since being released by the tribe and coming back up through indy ball. Look at those ST stats - plus his year in AA, well in all actuality ever since he was given a 2nd chance. He has seized what in baseball vernacular could be called a true non-opportunity and wind up on a ML team by the end of the season at this rate. I guess it could be considered a whiff by the scouting/player development dept, but his "filler" status (48th round selection/age) and ho-hum but not terrible final year definitely doomed him. His release didn't seem irrational, but in hindsight never happens. Looks like he learned a lot from the experience. These are the guys I love rooting for.

Let the record show I was the leader of Nuno's bandwagon (along with Neil Wagner and proud co-chair of the Jeff Stevens, Jon Meloan and Francisco Caberra bandwagons). Nice to see that Vidal is making a run at it still.

With respect to the lone remaining Rule V draftee, Chris McGuiness.. so far, he's show me nothing that says we should keep him around.. The Indians are doing the Rangers a favor by paying his meal money and laundry bill for a guy who just doesn't have the ability to see a pitch for what it is.. and put the good part of the bat on it..Only Drew Stubbs has struck out more than him.. Maybe, after months and months or perhaps years and years, he'll be better at it, but, right now.. he's not very good.. and shows no sign of getting better..

If it means losing him right now or sending anyone to the rangers for him.. then it was nice to have known you.. and the plane ticket is coach...

So with the recent demotions, it seems Kazmir is all but assured the 5th starter role. I think they're keeping Carrasco up so that they can start him on the 25 just to get his suspension out of the way (Tony suggested they might do this awhile ago). In which case I'd imagine they'll start Allen or Hagadone down in Columbus for those 6 days, then swap the two.

So it looks like Carrera, McGuinness and Huff will probably lose roster spots in favor of Giambi, Raburn and Kazmir (though if Huff makes the team over Hagadone, they can just put Herrman on the 60 day DL). Zeke seems like the only one who might be claimed. So no big losses there. The Columbus rotation would set up nicely with Bauer/Carrasco/Kluber as your top 3. With some combination of Dice-K, Barnes, Packer, Huff and Salazar behind them. I'm not entirely sure why we're even keeping Dice-K around, as I think I'd almost rather have Huff come up than him at this point. It seems like there's zero purpose for him here.

Edible14 wrote:So with the recent demotions, it seems Kazmir is all but assured the 5th starter role. I think they're keeping Carrasco up so that they can start him on the 25 just to get his suspension out of the way (Tony suggested they might do this awhile ago). In which case I'd imagine they'll start Allen or Hagadone down in Columbus for those 6 days, then swap the two.

So it looks like Carrera, McGuinness and Huff will probably lose roster spots in favor of Giambi, Raburn and Kazmir (though if Huff makes the team over Hagadone, they can just put Herrman on the 60 day DL). Zeke seems like the only one who might be claimed. So no big losses there. The Columbus rotation would set up nicely with Bauer/Carrasco/Kluber as your top 3. With some combination of Dice-K, Barnes, Packer, Huff and Salazar behind them. I'm not entirely sure why we're even keeping Dice-K around, as I think I'd almost rather have Huff come up than him at this point. It seems like there's zero purpose for him here.

Huff's in the same situation as Zeke.. out of options.. must be exposed to waivers if he's being sent to the minors.. Both could be lost.. and it would be sad..sniffle sniffle..

MadThinker88 wrote:Could the Mets use another relief arm??I doubt the tribe could get much, but I would like to see Zeke and Albers moved in tandem and hope the return is more than cash.

Agreed, here's where they could get creative...teams IFA spending pool (up to half of the pool) will now be tradable once the season begins, could be done in the form of future considerations. I still have the feeling that they will make a few minor moves in the next wk / two. Chris McGuiness could be acq. from the Rangers and sent down to Columbus. I'd also think Huff might have minimal value. In all I think we could see some sort of transaction with those four names in it.

I was about to express my frustration that David Huff keeps popping up in the conversation. The guy is 28 years old and has a career line of 18-26 with a 5.30 ERA. He's no longer a prospect. He's strictly a AAAA lifer.

But taking a closer look, he seems to be putting it together now that he's in the bullpen. His major league ERA the last three years is 6.21, 4.09, and 3.38. His WHIP in the same period: 1.69, 1.42, and 1.31. His walks per 9 innings: 3.8, 3.0, and an outstanding 1.7 last year.

He's got a nice trajectory over the last three years. Part of that is due to moving to the bullpen I assume, although I haven't broken it down.

Maybe there's a role for him in long relief or something, but with Hagadone, Hill, and Barnes to contend with, I don't expect to see much if any of Mr. Huff in Cleveland this year. Somebody will probably claim him on waivers and give him a shot.

Edit:

Looking at Huff's 2012 numbers, the sample size is small but revealing. As a starter opposing batters hit .314/883 against him. As a reliever it was .143/.420 (only 21 at-bats, though). In 2011 he was strictly a starter.

In both 2011 and 2012 he was beat up after throwing 45 pitches. In 2011 opposing batters hit .300/.964 on pitches 46-60. In 2012 it was even worse; .500 (8-for-16 with 3 HRs). Obviously you don't want to let Huff go through the order three times or he will get hammered. But he might be OK in a major league bullpen as a guy who can pitch two innings or even in long relief.

Depending on your POV, one of the "down sides" to the WBC is the opportunity for a number of non-roster guys to show they can play thereby eliminating a potential trade partner.. The Nats, as an example.. signed JC Romero after watching him perform in the WBC.. While it's just conjecture, baseball is a game of opportunities: those received and exploited.. those missed that remain in the "what if.." column...

As far as packaging Zeke the Streak with Huff..two roster spots on the same team at this time of year would be GINORMOUS! It's not impossible, but going in that direction...

Just wondered if anyone caught the Indians-DBacks game from last night? Did anyone notice something different in Masterson's delivery? His windup & legkick appear the same, but something about his release point seemed different. Not sure how to describe it, but it could just be my imagination playing tricks. Regardless, he looked like his stuff was certainly there for him.

Also, Mark Reynolds 2 run shot, good lord that was a blast, I suggest you check the video if you were unable to see it.

GoTribe028 wrote:Just wondered if anyone caught the Indians-DBacks game from last night? Did anyone notice something different in Masterson's delivery? His windup & legkick appear the same, but something about his release point seemed different. Not sure how to describe it, but it could just be my imagination playing tricks. Regardless, he looked like his stuff was certainly there for him.

Also, Mark Reynolds 2 run shot, good lord that was a blast, I suggest you check the video if you were unable to see it.

What you were witnessing in Masterson's delivery was that he stayed on top of the ball at the release point. It makes the downward plane, of his off speed pitches particularly, effective. The release point is still a WIP, but, you can see that he's getting "coached up" on that specific part of his delivery..

W/R to Reynolds Homer.. the guys at NASA charted it's trajectory and determined the ball has another two hours before reaching apogee thereby setting in motion an unavoidable orbital decay rate that sends the ball back to earth..

Lonnie Chisenhall is just crushing the ball.. If he stays healthy, this could be a GINORMOUS season for him...

So, to open the year, we'll be carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players (really 12 pitchers with Carrasco on suspension). After Carrasco's suspension, I anticipate that they'll option him down and activate Giambi off of the DL. Although they've yet to option Shaw down, which seems like it has to happen, right? Albers, Perez, Smith, Pestano and Allen are the 5 righties, with Hagadone/Hill as the lefties. So there appears to be no room for Shaw unless they're demoting/DL'ing another position player or a different reliever (Albers?).

So we're adding Giambi, Kazmir and Raburn to the 40, while DFA'ing Huff and Zeke most likely (and putting Herrman on the 60 day dl). McGuinness will likely be offered back as well. That leaves a 40 man roster spot open... but for what? MLBTR reports they're trying to work out a trade to keep McGuinness... we'll see how that works.

Meanwhile, Columbus is really noticeably thin now in the field. Phelps, McDade, Diaz, Fedroff and Gomes are the only position players on the 40. There's quite a few minor league free agents who will see some significant playing time, at least to begin the year. Aside from Phelps, I'm not sure I qualify anybody down there as quality depth for the big league team. Akron is way more interesting, prospect-wise, with Aguilar, Wolters, Ronny Rodriguez, and Monsalve there.

I would not be surprised if the Yankees put in a claim for Zeke. Boesch is apparently hurt, so I wouldn't doubt that they have need for a 4th/5th outfielder, even with the acquisition of Wells. The Royals and Mets also appear to need outfielders.

Edible14 wrote:So, to open the year, we'll be carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players (really 12 pitchers with Carrasco on suspension). After Carrasco's suspension, I anticipate that they'll option him down and activate Giambi off of the DL. Although they've yet to option Shaw down, which seems like it has to happen, right? Albers, Perez, Smith, Pestano and Allen are the 5 righties, with Hagadone/Hill as the lefties. So there appears to be no room for Shaw unless they're demoting/DL'ing another position player or a different reliever (Albers?).

So we're adding Giambi, Kazmir and Raburn to the 40, while DFA'ing Huff and Zeke most likely (and putting Herrman on the 60 day dl). McGuinness will likely be offered back as well. That leaves a 40 man roster spot open... but for what? MLBTR reports they're trying to work out a trade to keep McGuinness... we'll see how that works.

I would not be surprised if the Yankees put in a claim for Zeke. Boesch is apparently hurt, so I wouldn't doubt that they have need for a 4th/5th outfielder, even with the acquisition of Wells. The Royals and Mets also appear to need outfielders.

Shaw hasn't been optioned out as he made the club. Kazmir isn't going to be added to the 25 man roster til it's his turn in the rotation. Allows the Tribe to have an 8 man pen to start the year then (think its overkill and hopefully we won't need it but we will see).

Will be interesting to see who gets sent down when Kaz/Giambi are added. Carrasco is obviously one but which reliever goes...Shaw? Hags? Allen? Allen hasn't pitched all that well since he was told he made the club.

Agree, definitely a few teams that could take a shot on Carrera. Think he will be claimed if not traded too. Wonder if Arizona might be a fit now with Ross and Eaton both hurt. Looks like they have 2 open 40 man spots too.

Figured this thread is as good a place as any for this little topic, but I want to say that the ad campaign for the Tribe this year is top notch. There are two specific ads featuring Terry Francona and Nick Swisher and today a new one was released. I gotta admit, I had a good laugh at how silly Francona and others are being, and you can tell these guys are having so much fun right now.

We'll see how much fun they appear to have during the season, but right now it's quite refreshing to see.

GoTribe028 wrote:Figured this thread is as good a place as any for this little topic, but I want to say that the ad campaign for the Tribe this year is top notch. There are two specific ads featuring Terry Francona and Nick Swisher and today a new one was released. I gotta admit, I had a good laugh at how silly Francona and others are being, and you can tell these guys are having so much fun right now.

We'll see how much fun they appear to have during the season, but right now it's quite refreshing to see.

GoTribe028 wrote:Figured this thread is as good a place as any for this little topic, but I want to say that the ad campaign for the Tribe this year is top notch. There are two specific ads featuring Terry Francona and Nick Swisher and today a new one was released. I gotta admit, I had a good laugh at how silly Francona and others are being, and you can tell these guys are having so much fun right now.

We'll see how much fun they appear to have during the season, but right now it's quite refreshing to see.

GoTribe028 wrote:Figured this thread is as good a place as any for this little topic, but I want to say that the ad campaign for the Tribe this year is top notch. There are two specific ads featuring Terry Francona and Nick Swisher and today a new one was released. I gotta admit, I had a good laugh at how silly Francona and others are being, and you can tell these guys are having so much fun right now.

We'll see how much fun they appear to have during the season, but right now it's quite refreshing to see.

The best thing to come out of the CWSox/Indians game was the way Jason Kipnis swung the bat.. He was right on top of the ball, hit it hard and went to left center.. you could just SEE the 'eye' click in...

GoTribe028 wrote:Wasn't sure which minor league thread to place this under but when I read it all I could think was "Huh?"

@hoynsie23: #Indians have converted top infield prospect Tony Wolters to catcher. He caught some in high school

Perfect Game listed him as a catcher a few times. Is undersized like Pedroia but also Craig Biggio...who switched to catcher around Wolters age. Interesting move for the Tribe. With so much middle infield depth it makes sense. Thought maybe CF could work for Wolters too but very interested to see him behind the plate.

GoTribe028 wrote:Wasn't sure which minor league thread to place this under but when I read it all I could think was "Huh?"

@hoynsie23: #Indians have converted top infield prospect Tony Wolters to catcher. He caught some in high school

Hard to believe if this is true. One thing I will say is that he does have a good baseball IQ. But really?

I didn't know his arm was that good. They didn't consult me but I don't like the idea. Wolters struggled some when they moved him to High A ball. Then he worked his butt off & turned his season around. After all of that they "reward" him with a position change? To the most difficult position on the diamond? Don't mean to sound negative but I'm a big Wolters fan & I think this move guarantees that he won't make it to MLB.

Considering that the Indians have about no one that could be considered an "elite" catching prospect.(I still like Haase and Lavisky).... moving Tony to this spot would appear to be a truer and more likely path to the Major Leagues.

For those of you who have never donned the tools of ignorance, to be an elite receiver you have to be able to ignore pain, have an unbelievably strong arm and the willingness to tote your lunch pail to work every day following the latest train wreck you've been in.. The position is a killer.. and damn few have the ability to play well... let alone at an elite level. Wolters has shown from day one that he is a GAMER and has the mindset to make it a go. The start of his process in converting to looking out onto the field instead of looking into the batter has already begun..

I guess you can color me shocked and surprised with the move of Wolters to catcher. Just really saw him as really developing into a solid everyday second baseman, super utility player... he jumped a level last year, and after a month of shellshock at the plate, rebounded superbly, finishing the season very strongly. I don't know the person/player on a personal level, but obviously that is what has the tribe brass confident that this type move, for this particular person ..isn't as big a stretch as it appears on the surface. I'm hoping that Tony can give us his insight on the player's makeup because , quite frankly, that is the brass tax of this particular move. This type move will test this guy at all angles, and they mist feel confident he has what it takes mentally, physically, and in terms of resolve. It sets his timeline back a year at least..I would assume. But, provides him a greater chance of 'making it', and once there ...reaching a higher ceiling.

Very anxious to get Tony's thoughts on this move from all angles, most particularly..the makeup of the player and person in question ..Tony Wolters.

GeronimoSon wrote:Considering that the Indians have about no one that could be considered an "elite" catching prospect.(I still like Haase and Lavisky).... moving Tony to this spot would appear to be a truer and more likely path to the Major Leagues.

For those of you who have never donned the tools of ignorance, to be an elite receiver you have to be able to ignore pain, have an unbelievably strong arm and the willingness to tote your lunch pail to work every day following the latest train wreck you've been in.. The position is a killer.. and damn few have the ability to play well... let alone at an elite level. Wolters has shown from day one that he is a GAMER and has the mindset to make it a go. The start of his process in converting to looking out onto the field instead of looking into the batter has already begun..

Good luck to him.. he's gonna need it...

Agreed, btw, I like Haase and Lavisky too. You just never know, I thought for certain the Tribe would simply try to go forward as is with the depth and possibly make a move later to bring in some pitching. Not out of the realm of possibility still. I wish Wolters the best, I've caught and pitched I'd rather pitch any day.

I just don't see what Wolters could offer at catcher. He's little, his arm isn't that good, his bat isn't that strong. I don't see him holding up under the grind of catching full time. My main problem is that I could see him making a contribution as a 2B at the ML level. This sort of experiment, which I believe is doomed to fail, will only set back his development.

We have Monsalve, Lowery, Lavisky, Haase, Lucas, Stock, plus a guy who's ready right now in Yan Gomes. Does anyone believe that Wolters has near the tools for catching that any of those guys have?

Rocky55 wrote:I just don't see what Wolters could offer at catcher. He's little, his arm isn't that good, his bat isn't that strong. I don't see him holding up under the grind of catching full time. My main problem is that I could see him making a contribution as a 2B at the ML level. This sort of experiment, which I believe is doomed to fail, will only set back his development.

We have Monsalve, Lowery, Lavisky, Haase, Lucas, Stock, plus a guy who's ready right now in Yan Gomes. Does anyone believe that Wolters has near the tools for catching that any of those guys have?

My guess is that the Indians are looking to make hime the Ron Pruitt (see 1970's) type super utility guy. Pruitt caught some games and played OF, 3B and 1B for the Indians.